Kay’s Lemon Clouds

The Lemon Clouds recipe was posted in the comment section by Kay, who said she received some of the cookies as a holiday gift and fell in love with them. I pasted the recipe below as Kay wrote it, but put “butter” in parenthesis because that’s what I used. I also found that the food processor worked perfectly – just process the butter and sugar until creamy, sift in the flour and cornstarch, then pulse until mixture forms a dough. As for shaping, the dough was pliable, so I just kind of molded the cookies into balls. They spread a tiny bit and the end result where little mounds, which I frosted with Kay’s lemon icing. Thanks for the recipe, Kay!

Cream margarine (butter) and sugar. Sift in flour and cornstarch. Mix well. Drop by small teaspoonful on un-greased cookie sheet about one inch apart. Bake for 15 minutes at 350. Do not brown. Cool and ice.

To prepare icing, cream margarine and powdered sugar, adding lemon juice for consistency. Lemon rind may be added if desired. This recipe may be baked ahead
and frozen. Best if eaten within 2-3 days after baking.

Comments

I should have probably mentioned that in the post. Before the cookies set, I sprinkled them with a bit of yellow decorating sugar. I believe I bought it at Williams Sonoma. You can usually find sparkly colored sugars at specialty stores (like WS) or gourmet type stores with good baking sections.

These cookies are so good, btw. I chilled mine for a while and the icing set up firm enough so that the cookies can be stacked.

Have you ever tried using the powdered Real Lemon that comes in tiny individual serving packets? They have it at Whole Foods and it is a great addition to this type of cookie (either in the dough or the glaze).

I just finished making these cookies and unfortunately they didn’t turn out. I followed the recipe exactly, but the cookies spread so much they just crumbled. I then rolled into balls and they spread less, but still crumbled when trying to take them off the cookie sheet.
Do you have any suggestions? We scooped the crumbs into bowls and topped with a bit of the icing and they tasted great, but would love if they actually stayed in the mounds like yours.

I’m not sure why they spread. My only thought is maybe you read it as “1/3 cup” cornstarch rather than 1 1/3 cup. Or maybe you used a corn oil spread as opposed to butter or regular margarine? If anyone else has a problem, please let me know. The recipe worked for me, if it doesn’t work for everyone, I’ll take it down.

I’m really sorry those cookies didn’t work out. I’m glad you liked the flavor, but there’s no point in making something that’s going to fall apart on you. It’s interesting that they both spread AND fell apart. I can see them being too clumpy and lumpy and breaking, but I’m surprised that they spread so much.

Land of Lakes has a similar recipe. Maybe the proportions here would work better?